A Climate of Emotions pilot study reducing climate anxiety and strengthening resilience

A Climate of Emotions pilot study reducing climate anxiety and strengthening resilience | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Climate of Emotions pilot study reducing climate anxiety and strengthening resilience Patricia E. Freedman, Daniel Y. Choi, Michalina Marczak, Hava Chishti, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8349463/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a theoretically grounded psychological intervention and pilot study examining the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) skill development on climate emotions, specifically climate isolation, climate anxiety, climate powerlessness, and climate enthusiasm. Participants (N = 37) engaged in storytelling, creative expression, and design thinking exercises to address the emotional toll of the climate crisis by applying EI skills to build resilience and strengthen motivation for sustainable climate engagement. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected using an abbreviated Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE), and participants’ reflective statements on resilience. Quantitative analyses (mixed-effects modeling) showed significant post-intervention decreases in climate anxiety (β = -0.53, SE = 0.12, t(36) = -4.55, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.76, -0.29]), climate isolation (β = -0.55, SE = 0.09, t(36) = -5.93, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.73, -0.36]), climate powerlessness (β = -0.41, SE = 0.10, t(36) = -3.90, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.62, -0.19]), and an increase in climate enthusiasm (β = 0.26, SE = 0.07, t(36) = 3.70, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.12, 0.41]). Qualitative analysis identified five resilience themes: cultivating inner strength/self-worth, connecting/building community, personal agency/action, balancing emotional growth, and fostering hope/ positive outlook. The organization of these themes suggests a progression from inner development to outward engagement. Together, these results provide preliminary evidence that EI skill development can reduce climate distress, strengthen resilience, and enhance emotional capacities that support climate adaptation and sustainable behavior. Emotional intelligence Climate emotions Climate anxiety Resilience Psychological intervention Sustainable behavior Climate adaptation Eco-anxiety. Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. The authors are affiliated with Six Seconds, the nonprofit organization that developed and facilitated the Climate of Emotions intervention examined in this study. This research was conducted as part of Six Seconds’ nonprofit impact initiatives and was not commercially funded. The authors declare that they have no financial or commercial competing interests related to this work. Supplementary Files SupplementaryFile1.docx SupplementaryFile2A.docx SupplementaryFile2B.docx SupplementaryFile3.docx AppendixAICEQuestions.docx AppendixBReflectivePrompts.docx AppendixCRCode.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 06 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 30 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8349463","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":578612041,"identity":"c55be516-9ef7-4572-979d-2f0c72e230c4","order_by":0,"name":"Patricia E. 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The authors are affiliated with Six Seconds, the nonprofit organization that developed and facilitated the Climate of Emotions intervention examined in this study. This research was conducted as part of Six Seconds’ nonprofit impact initiatives and was not commercially funded. The authors declare that they have no financial or commercial competing interests related to this work.","formattedTitle":"A Climate of Emotions pilot study reducing climate anxiety and strengthening resilience","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Emotional intelligence, Climate emotions, Climate anxiety, Resilience, Psychological intervention, Sustainable behavior, Climate adaptation, Eco-anxiety.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8349463/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8349463/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper presents a theoretically grounded psychological intervention and pilot study examining the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) skill development on climate emotions, specifically climate isolation, climate anxiety, climate powerlessness, and climate enthusiasm. Participants (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;37) engaged in storytelling, creative expression, and design thinking exercises to address the emotional toll of the climate crisis by applying EI skills to build resilience and strengthen motivation for sustainable climate engagement. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected using an abbreviated Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE), and participants\u0026rsquo; reflective statements on resilience.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuantitative analyses (mixed-effects modeling) showed significant post-intervention decreases in climate anxiety (β = -0.53, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.12, t(36) = -4.55, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, 95% CI [-0.76, -0.29]), climate isolation (β = -0.55, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.09, t(36) = -5.93, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, 95% CI [-0.73, -0.36]), climate powerlessness (β = -0.41, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.10, t(36) = -3.90, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, 95% CI [-0.62, -0.19]), and an increase in climate enthusiasm (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.26, SE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.07, t(36)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.70, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, 95% CI [0.12, 0.41]).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQualitative analysis identified five resilience themes: cultivating inner strength/self-worth, connecting/building community, personal agency/action, balancing emotional growth, and fostering hope/ positive outlook. The organization of these themes suggests a progression from inner development to outward engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTogether, these results provide preliminary evidence that EI skill development can reduce climate distress, strengthen resilience, and enhance emotional capacities that support climate adaptation and sustainable behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Climate of Emotions pilot study reducing climate anxiety and strengthening resilience","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-23 18:05:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8349463/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-06T10:53:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-02T10:35:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-30T18:16:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"151207940167266761356146069913597572115","date":"2026-01-30T17:38:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"223660000294787450313180917466234388633","date":"2026-01-30T12:28:48+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"303017149002392980245640560217538215268","date":"2026-01-29T17:11:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"77682509133323028060939235508700092684","date":"2026-01-29T07:11:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"20925529382742279400236162222801642360","date":"2026-01-23T15:50:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-23T13:23:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"102208458196997131060750272954149072512","date":"2026-01-22T08:51:57+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"232802372127545770671907580862536618161","date":"2026-01-21T16:51:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-21T15:45:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-31T02:28:55+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-29T20:04:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Sustainability","date":"2025-12-29T19:58:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7d109fb3-7493-4761-b03d-0408944820ba","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 23rd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-17T11:41:43+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-23 18:05:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8349463","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8349463","identity":"rs-8349463","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}